Guess who's back!
I realize I haven’t shared much news since I moved back to Brussels last year.
I’ve intentionally kept things under the radar while settling back in my home town, working on other projects and rethinking what AVANDI could become in this next chapter.
I recently joined a shared "atelier" called MicroFactory and I’m finally able to get some hands-on work done. It’s a great community of makers who share resources and tools, as well as advice and experience. I’m so glad I decided to cross the canal to go work there! It feels great to be surrounded by people who make things, I'd missed that! I’ve been able to experiment with new machines and techniques, as well as practice my skills on familiar tools.
I’m also changing the way I’m sourcing materials. You know me, I’ve always been focused on using durable materials to create products you’ll keep forever. This is still true, and I want to go one step further now.
Working in architecture has brought my attention to the amount of waste generated in that industry. Amazing materials with a rich history are often discarded during renovation work, and offcuts of new materials are often thrown away when too small for reuse.
This is where I come in. Most of my products are fairly small - compared to architectural scale - and can be made out of these seemingly useless pieces of material. (I’ve done this in the past actually, using reclaimed leather to pad the bottom of my Candlestix, Incenstix and Menorah.) Now I am working on sourcing more materials that way, so I can design objects that are even more in line with my values.
The project I’m working on right now is an opportunity for me to experiment with this new approach.
My new collection will debut at Obumex on September 11
Obumex creates bespoke interiors using high quality materials, including hardwood, stone and leather. They’ve given me access to their production workshop so I could look through and revive some of their redundant materials. It was A-mazing! Not only is their space a maker’s heaven, but I found great materials that I’ll actually be able to use for other projects too.
The resulting pieces will be on view at Obumex' showroom from September 12 - 28 and they might surprise you...